Al-Ahly is on a difficult task.. Wydad and Esperance are the closest to reaching the semi-finals of the "African Champions"

Al-Ahly of Egypt, the defending champion, is waiting for a very difficult task in the hospitality of Moroccan Raja Casablanca, tomorrow in the second leg of the African Champions League quarter-finals, while Tunisian Esperance and Moroccan Wydad seem the closest to reaching the round of four when they host ES Setif and Chabab Belouizdad, respectively.

The Century Club, which is striving for the eleventh title in its history (a record), is aware that visiting Mohammed V Stadium in Casablanca is not easy, especially in the presence of the "green locust", which is the title of the Raja fans.

The leader of the Egyptian League made the task difficult for himself after winning 2-1 in the first leg, especially since the Moroccan team played about half an hour with ten players after the expulsion of its defender Marwan Al-Hadhoudi, and Amr Al-Sulayya missed a penalty kick for the Cairo team.

Arbitration controversy

The match witnessed an arbitration controversy when the referee Jean-Jacques Ndala of the Democratic Republic of the Congo awarded a first penalty kick to Al-Ahly, which aroused the Moroccan team’s dissatisfaction with its inaccuracy. FIFA, in which he stressed that "the world witnessed an arbitration scandal that affected the reputation of African arbitration and affected the principle of parity between the two teams."

Raja, aspiring to its fourth title and the first since 1999, is looking forward to taking advantage of playing on its home soil and among its fans, which has always been a catalyst on many occasions, to turn the result and grab the qualification for the semi-finals.

His coach, Rashid Al-Taousi, hopes to remedy the mistakes made by the team in the first leg, especially at the level of the defense line, as Al-Hadhudi will be absent for suspension, but he will restore the efforts of defender Mohamed Al-Nahiri, and he also hopes that midfielder Omar Al-Arjoun will regain his readiness after the injury that kept him from the first leg.

Doubts swirl about the participation of Tunisian full-back Ali Maaloul in the squad of South African coach Pitso Mosimane, due to a muscle injury.

Mosimane was keen to motivate his players, asking them to fight and make a strong show, and said, "We are the best in Africa, the title holder in the last two editions of the tournament, and we have a great advantage, as evidenced by the many opportunities that were wasted in the first leg."

The South African played down the impact of the Raja fans, saying, "The match is between 11 players from each team, not against the fans."

Esperance seeks to reserve its place in the Golden Square when it hosts ES Setif at the Hamadi Al-Akrabi Stadium in Rades, after returning with a precious negative draw in the first leg.

Esperance, the title holder 4 times, the last of which is 2019, needs to win any result, while Al-Wefaq, at least a positive draw, is enough to overthrow its host.

Wydad to confirm its supremacy

In a second Maghreb derby, Wydad Casablanca hopes to renew its supremacy over its guest, Chabab Belouizdad, when they meet at Mohammed V Stadium in Casablanca on Saturday.

Wydad Al-Umma had decided the first leg, which it played with ten players, since the seventh minute, after Jalal Daoudi was sent off, with a precious 1-0 victory.

The Moroccan team, champion in 1992 and 2017, and like its arch-rival, Raja, seeks to benefit from the workers of the land and the public to continue its wonderful journey in the competition.

Wydad coach Walid Regragui called on his players to "not be complacency and respect the opponent," adding, "We still haven't achieved anything. A difficult match awaits us and we must move away from overconfidence."

Midfielder Reda Al-Jaadi returns to the ranks of Wydad after recovering from injury, to be a possible alternative to the suspended Daoudi.

On the other hand, the Brazilian coach of Belouizdad Marcos Paqueta is absent from a number of important players such as Mahi Ben Hamou, Najib Ammari and Zine El Abidine Bou Lekhweh.

Paqueta hopes that his offensive line will be effective, after he suffered from a goal-scoring sterility in the first leg, and believed that the team's chances of "still qualifying, because we are able to score in the return match."

Mamelodi Sundowns, the South, is looking forward to overturning its 1-2 loss against Angolan Petro Atlético, when they meet back in Pretoria.

Sundowns need to win by a clean goal in order to qualify for the semi-finals, and coach Mankuba Mingkete said, "We seek to score goals and pay attention to the offensive aspects, especially as we need to win, but our focus is on keeping a clean sheet." For his part, the visiting team will try Overthrowing one of the strongest candidates for the title, relying on Brazilian striker Thiago Azola, who shone in the first leg by scoring the first goal and making the second.

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